$17M XRP/USD Heist: Widow of Country Legend George Jones Victimized in Crypto Theft

What started as a suspicion of cheating ended with an arrest for XRP/USD theft. Nancy Jones, widow of country icon George Jones, says her longtime partner, Kirk West, stole more than $17 million in XRP from her Tennessee home.

Dang, you never want to see that happen to your XRP. RIP.

Reportedly, with doubts about West’s loyalty growing, Jones asked her granddaughter to check on her money, only to find that a Ledger wallet and $400,000 in cash were gone. That wallet held over 5.5 million XRP tokens.

West was picked up by police at Nashville International Airport on July 24, just as Franklin police opened their investigation.

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XRP/USD: Attempted Extortion and Partial Recovery

Court documents allege that West later contacted Jones and offered to return only a portion of the stolen funds.

“He said he would wire me $5 million and that was all I was going to get,” Jones recounted, per the criminal affidavit.

Although Jones was able to recover approximately 5 million XRP, she still suffered a loss of over 483,000 tokens. West now faces charges of felony theft over $250,000, and his bond is set at $1 million.

Dude in Nashville stole 5.5M XRP from a country music widow. Claimed he was a crypto expert. RIP to trust

— CryptoSangeet (@CryptoSangeet) July 29, 2025

The theft adds a layer of drama to what’s already been a busy week for Ripple Labs. On July 25, Ripple published a new report exploring how stablecoins are shaping global payment infrastructure. The company highlighted how stablecoins are becoming increasingly important in regions with volatile local currencies and limited USD access.

“Stablecoins like USDC, USDT, RLUSD, and newer region-specific tokens are being integrated into wallets and payment platforms worldwide,” Ripple wrote.

Traditional Finance Embraces XRP Stablecoin Tech

The stablecoin invasion by legacy finance is well underway.

• Visa has now processed more than $225 million in stablecoin payments.
• Mastercard is pushing out stablecoin-linked debit cards.
• Worldpay is expanding stablecoin payouts across both the U.S. and Europe.

And XRP looks to be one of the coins at the center of this revolution, so make sure to keep those coins safe!

“From blockchain-based networks to mobile money aggregators, the financial services ecosystem is evolving fast… Stablecoins and fintech innovators are transforming global transactions.” -Ripple Foundation

EXPLORE: XRP Price Jumps 11% After SEC Crypto Unit Tease XRP ETF Progress

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